


To Make History

by TeaSippinSpirit



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Master/Pet, Master/Slave, VictUuri, pet/master
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:27:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12779856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaSippinSpirit/pseuds/TeaSippinSpirit
Summary: Victor is being pressured by his business partners to purchase a pet, something he's avoided his entire life.





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s not right, Victor. People are starting to talk.”

Victor scoffed silently at the comment. What did he care if people were talking? It wasn’t their place to have an opinion of him or his activities away from the Agency.

“I don’t care.” He said in a cool, calm voice. “What are the opinions of anyone to me, so long as I do my job well?”

Yakov slammed his fist onto the desk top, causing several objects to shake and threaten to fall.

“Victor, this is no joke! Get one, or the company will ask you to step down.”

Victor chuckled humorlessly and shook his head. “I highly doubt that.”

Yakov closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, taking deep breaths before speaking again.

“Victor, the shareholders will be here on Monday. They are excited to meet you and the company is worried that they will get the wrong idea if you show up without one. Please, just go down to the lower levels and pick one. Any one!”

Victor laced his fingers together delicately, letting his chin rest on them for several breaths.

“Fine. Just have someone pick one out and bring it up here.” He said stretching back in his chair with a soft sigh. “I don’t have time to go picking through the lower levels.”

Yakov shook his head. “You know that’s not how it works, Victor! Just take 20 minutes and pick one out.” Yakov suddenly stood from his chair, nearly knocking it over in his haste. “I have to go to a meeting.” He looked at his watch and snarled. “Do it. Today.” He said warningly as he shut the door behind him.

Victor stared at the closed door for a long moment. This entire thing was absurd. He knew his job was safe because he was the best. The Agency’s profit margin had gone up nearly 30% since he had taken over for his father nearly 4 years prior.

He had a head for business and numbers and there was no way they would let him go. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t make his life a little less pleasant. Certain rules of society dictated that Alphas owned pets. And Victor had been without a pet for longer than any of his business colleagues had known him.

It was considered obscene to not have one. A pet was more than a social symbol, they were necessary to keep Alphas sated. Humanity had found that Alphas were passionate, violent and easily angered. They were brutal and domineering in a way that just had no place in polite society. Pets—well pets took care of that issue.

Betas trained from infancy, pets were taught how to read and understand emotions, they were educated on the finer points of diplomacy and could easily calm down a raging Alpha in a way no other person could. They were soft spoken, delicate and pretty—qualities that mimicked the long endangered Omega who had originally taken on the role of peace keeper.

Victor saw the need for him to have a pet as an insult. He had never shown an ounce of outburst anger, never lost his cool or even needed to step out of a meeting to gather his thoughts. He was calculated and poised in a way that most people saw as an accomplishment. But his 4 years of proving himself weren’t enough to erase the ideals of centuries. An Alpha without a pet was dangerous and emotional, without a pet, his job may not be directly on the line, but the respect he had worked so hard to get would slowly start to slip.

He stood from his chair, grabbed his cup of coffee and walked to the door. The lower levels were where the Agency kept the pets that were ready for sale, and all Victor had to do was pick one and get it over with. So that’s what he was going to do.

A pet could be used for a great many tasks. Depending on their training, they could work alongside their Alpha in the work place, but were more often used as a type of personal servant. The average pet would cook, clean, fetch coffee and make sure that their Alpha was able to focus on their work. And though the richer an Alpha was, the more decorative their pet became—it was always the pet’s duty to make sure their Alpha was being taken care of.

Victor had been raised in a family who kept pets, as most aristocratic families did. It had taken him by surprise when he discovered that his parents preferred the company of their pets in bed to each other, and when his tutor had explained that ‘their lot’ always went with an advantageous marriage he suddenly realized why his father, the Alpha kept so many pets.

The Agency had been in Victor’s family for decades, started by his great grandfather and then passed down through the generations. The Agency was in his blood, and he was good at the job. They sold pets to the masses, usually dealing with upper middle class citizens, they were known for having a healthy and helpful stock of pets.

Even without his job as the CEO and Chief of the Nikiforov Agency, he was in no danger of becoming poor. His family money had been left to him, the sole heir, when his father had died, and even after setting up his mother for life, he found plenty of money to keep generations of Nikiforovs from ever wanting for anything.  

Victor stepped into the elevator and pressed the button that would take him to the lower levels. He sipped at the coffee in his hand and waited. There was no need to draw this out. By the time Yakov came back from the meeting the old man would find Victor hard at work, a pet sitting at his side. Simple.

He didn’t need to find a particularly attractive pet. His plan had always been to marry for love. There was no issue in marrying a wealthy young Beta who could add to the family wealth and help raise a well born family, but he didn’t want the standard marriage his parents had been forced into.

He knew his parents had been fond of each other and that alone had given them a fairly easy time of marriage. But Victor didn’t want his wife to find comfort with anyone but him—not even a pet. He wanted his wife to be the one to get him through his ruts, he wanted to be in love with her and even if having pets was part of the job, he wanted them to be there just for show.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped off into a brightly lit hallway. He had walked this hallway many times in his years. His father had started him off in the mail room when he was 15, and he had worked every job in the entire labor division until he graduated with his business degree. It had taught him a respect for the workers and was one of the reasons he was so successful. He walked the familiar path from the elevator to the front desk. The Lower levels were set up like an animal shelter. Clients would come in and walk the back room looking for a pet. Once they found the one they wanted, they would come back out here and fill out the paper work before being allowed to take their pet home.

The woman working the desk was dressed casually, her white lab coat signified her expertise in the Pet Field. Victor grinned as she tried to explain to a client that they couldn’t purchase more than one pet in a two week period.

“I’m sorry sir, it’s just policy. It’s there to keep them safe and make sure that they aren’t being trafficked. If you want another pet you have to wait the two week deadline and you have to bring proof that your first pet is still living with you.”

She turned her head when she noticed Victor and he nodded politely as he passed her. He noticed a long line of clients behind the man, and he shook his head with a soft chuckle.

He walked passed the desk, heading for the glass door which lead to the room where clients were able to see and pick their pet. The room were large and well lit. Separated by half walls, the pets would sit or stand in their block as clients looked them over.

Workers were stationed in the room to answer questions and let the pets out into the bonding area where clients could look them over with a little more privacy. Victor passed them all silently, noting how all of the workers seemed to gasp and stare at him as he walked by.

He didn’t want to explain his reasons for being down in the lower levels to anyone and he was sure they were all thinking it was some sort of inspection, but that probably wasn’t the worst thing. Keeping people on their toes was a good way to ensure top rate conditions.

He walked to the very end of the room, along the back wall where the last row of blocks stood. His only thought for how to choose a pet was to be smart businesswise. This last row was reserved for the pets who had been here longest. These blocks had windows to the parking lot where clients would gaze in, hopefully falling for one of the pets on display before they even entered the building.

He wanted to choose one from here because the longer a pet was on display the harder it was to sell them. And the Agency had no use for pets who wouldn’t sell. After a year in the display blocks, the Agency would send the pets to a facility where they would be retrained and tried to sell again. The facility they used, like most others, took the unwanted pets from Agencies at the original buy price. This was good business for the Agencies because after feeding and housing a pet for a year who never sold, it was unlikely they could make a decent profit from anyone.

The facilities would take the pets and sell them to a lower class of Alpha. The cheaper price for the sale worked out well for the facility because they didn’t feel the need to pay top dollar to house and feed the pet. Their inner workings with the Agencies created a good business relationship that often led to decent tax breaks for them. Victor had tried for years to convince his dad to figure another way to deal with less popular pets to no avail. And when he had taken over, he found that disrupting this working relationship could mean a lot of lost business opportunities for the company.  

He walked quickly past the blocks, heading toward the very end. The last block, closes to the entrance to the lower levels was where the longest housed pet was kept. He had never liked the practice of sending to the facility so taking this one would kill two birds with one stone. He grinned as he thought of what Yakov would do if he found that Victor had put so little personal thought into his pet. Doing it this way could lead to a very poor working pet/master relationship, and the whole idea was to get a pet and spend a few days with it so that when he met with his associates on Monday, it could at least appear that he’d had his pet for more than a day or two.  

Victor looked through the gate of the last block and saw, to his surprise, a very attractive pet sitting down on the floor, looking out of the window into the parking lot. His hair was black, unkempt but not quite messy. His figure was slender and subtle, skin clear and slightly olive toned. He hadn’t really cared about the looks of the pet, but now that he was here, he was a little delighted with him.

Victor cleared his throat, trying to capture his attention and the pet turned his head, gazing big brown eyes into the bright blue ones staring back. Victor tilted his head, wondering curiously why this one had never been bought. He as adorable, perhaps not sexy exactly, but adorable none the less.

“Come with me.” Victor said plainly leaving the gate open and walking back through the viewing room. He felt no need to check that the pet was behind him, he could hear his faint footsteps and hear his soft breaths. The workers were staring nervously as they passed through and when Victor reached the door leading back to the desk, he turned to see that all of the workers were practically gawking.

They must have thought he was going to question the longest staying pet to see if it was any of their fault. That actually wouldn’t be the worst idea. Victor had often wondered if the workers sometimes took advantage of the pets.

He gave them a reproachful look and when they all jumped and began asking to help clients again, Victor and the pet left the room. No need to quell their fears. Sometimes fear was healthy in workers.

He approached the desk and smiled at the worker, still slammed with a line of clients. He turned to the pet and motioned for him to turn around. On the back of all of the pets were pet id’s, sewn into their shirts. Victor wrote the id down and then sat down at the second computer beside the desk worker.

He quickly typed in the id, pulled the pet’s files and then grabbed them. The woman gave him a somewhat fearful look and he couldn’t help a grin. He doubted a Pet Expert would have anything to fear in having him speak with a pet, but you never could tell.

“Is there something wrong?” The woman called a little desperately as Victor and the pet headed toward the elevators.

Victor didn’t turn back as he pushed the button for the elevator, but called over his shoulder, “Yes.” He said casually. “I think it’s time we hired you some help to keep these lines down.” He smiled kindly at her as he climbed into the elevator, pet following diligently.

He took another sip of his coffee and sighed happily as they rose in silence back to the top floor. He made a mental note that the pet needed to shower, he didn’t smell bad exactly, but there was always a strange scent to pets straight from the lower levels. He also needed to get him some better clothes.

Pets often wore an odd sort of sweat suit; fitted well and all one color which usually correlated to their master. Victor’s father had always used a dark midnight blue for his pets, and his mother used a light blue. He’d have to think about it a bit later though. Now all he wanted to was settle the pet in and get back to work.

They reached the top floor and Victor exited the elevator, walking back to his office and opening the door where he stood and waited for the pet to enter before closing the door silently behind him.

There. It was done.

Victor pointed to the seat where Yakov had been yelling at him and then took his own seat around the desk, sitting back comfortably before flipping open the files of his new pet.

“Katsuki, Yuri.” He read aloud. “24 years old, Japanese decent, at the Agency for just shy of a year.” He continued.

He looked up from the file and saw the pet looking around his office with interest. His eyes were big and excited, dashing from side to side as he tried to take in everything. Victor hadn’t cared in the least about his office décor so it remained the same for him as it was for his father. He could see why it would be interesting for someone who’d only seen the likes of the lower levels though.

Dark cherry wood desk covered in papers and knickknacks along with a sleek white computer which had been the only change Victor had made. The chairs on the opposite side of his desk, where Yuuri was sitting were dark cherry as well with arm rests and a cushion to sit on. The cushions matched the red leather that upholstered the squishy armchair which sat beside a small bar where Victor kept his coffee station. The floors were done in oak and were covered with a large area rug that matched everything horribly. If it hadn’t been for the straight wall of windows that made up the entire corner of his office, the whole thing would be too dark and depressing to work in. But Victor made do, he didn’t have time to redecorate.

“You’ve been here for a long time, Yuuri.” Victor continued cautiously.

The boy looked at him and nodded, his face suddenly reddening and his eyes glassing up slightly. Victor didn’t want to draw it out, so he sat forward and stared him directly in the eye.

“Yuuri, I’ve selected you to be _my_ pet. I’ve been in need of one, and I couldn’t put it off any longer.” He said, deciding to be straight forward. “I don’t need a servant or a housekeeper. I don’t need a cook or a personal secretary. You will be by my side, stay silent and don’t touch anything. Is that clear?”

Yuuri’s eyes went wider, if that was even possible, and Victor could practically see the gears in his head working. There wasn’t much for the pet to think over, but Victor was not a cruel man. He knew that this was a huge surprise to the pet. He had spent the last year in the lower levels being trained and taught how to care for some middle class family. He had been given rules and expectations, learned how to do several things that Victor was sure would come in handy in that sort of life. He had waited and waited, been passed over time and again and was nearly 3 days from being sent to the facility when his entire life had been changed.

“Perfectly clear.” The words were soft and almost a whisper. His voice was a pleasant timber and though Victor could see the actual shaking, it was calm with a practiced ease.

Victor sat back in his chair and nodded his approval. “Good. Now I believe there’s a pet cushion in the closet over there.” He said pointing to the closet by the door. Yuuri nodded and stood from his chair. He got the cushion, a large, oversized round pillow covered in soft fur and a terrible polka dot design, and brought it to Victor’s left side.

He nodded in approval again as the pet set it on the floor and fluffed it with his hands before sitting comfortably in the middle. Close enough so that if Victor wanted to touch him, he could but far enough so that he wouldn’t accidentally touch him. It was a simple thing, but still nice to know that the pet knew how things worked.

 

When Yakov knocked on his door 30 minutes later, Victor had been finishing a report for the Pet Operational Bureau and he was glad he wasn’t easily startled or his papers would have flown all over the office as Victor burst through.

“Victor, come on, I’ll go down with you.” Yakov said walking to stand at the chair Yuuri had vacated earlier.

Victor shook his head. “It’s not necessary, Yakov.” He said calmly, setting his work down and leaning back in his chair.

“Victor, we’ve discussed this! You agreed to get a pet, and you should get one today so that they have time to get used to you before the shareholder’s meeting.”

Victor sighed and stared at Yakov for a long time before extending his hand toward Yuuri. His intent had simply been to point the pet out, but Yuuri leaned into the gesture, silky soft locks flew easily through Victor’s fingers and he felt as Yuuri sat up, resting his hands on Victor’s thigh as he made to move into his lap.

The action stunned him for a moment, but Victor recovered easily, letting his legs make room for the pet as he crawled into place settling himself comfortably in Victor’s lap and rubbing his cheek softly against Victor’s neck.

The act of a pet moving into an Alpha’s lap was not unusual. In fact, it was quite common. It showed the pet’s desire for contact for their Alpha. It was a move that showed the familiarity and comfortability between Alpha and pet. The more comfortable a pet became the easier it was for them to deduce an Alpha’s response to certain actions. Moving into Victor’s lap had been a bold move. The pet had no idea how Victor would react to such a move, he had no way of knowing if Victor would tolerate such behavior and yet—he’d done it. And Victor was so happy with the reaction it got from Yakov that he hardly thought about the move itself.

“You were saying, Yakov.”

The man stood, mouth hanging open slightly, staring though not believing.

“You—“

Victor nodded, “I told you I would, so I did.”

Yakov shook his head. “And he’s…well he’s obviously comfortable with you.” He said, trying to understand how easily that maneuver had worked if they had only met an hour or so ago. He would have thought it had been practiced, but he could clearly see that Victor had done a lot of work since he’d left. There wouldn’t have been time for the Alpha to go get the pet, settle him in, practice the move and then get that amount of work done.

Victor nodded. “Indeed.” He said calmly. “Now since our business here is done, would you mind…” he made a shooing motion with his hand and Yakov backed up, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. The pet was rubbing his cheek lovingly along Victor’s neck, though his movements seemed small enough to allow Victor to continue work, not impeding his ability at all.

Victor reached up and ran his fingers slowly through Yuuri’s hair, causing the pet to snuggle closer to him. Yakov hesitated at the door, Victor could see he was questioning the existence of the pet all along, and as the door shut behind the stunned man, Victor couldn’t help but let out a loud bark of laughter.

He felt Yuuri grinning into his neck and the pet looked up at him with the grin still plastered on his face.

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy that.” Yuuri said with the same calm voice he had used before.

Victor shook his head in awe at the pet and laughed again. It was the first time in a long time that something had truly made him laugh. He pet the boy’s hair kindly and nodded. “I would tell you to be careful of your actions in future, but I honestly don’t really care.”

Yuuri beamed at him and Victor felt a rush of affection flood through him at the sight. He hadn’t exactly thought having a pet would be difficult, but suddenly the idea was starting to seem positively nice.


	2. chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of long. more world building and some relationship building

Yuuri woke up comfortably warm. He could feel a soft breeze tousling his hair, making it tickle his cheeks pleasantly, his feet were warm as opposed to the usual ice sickles they usually were in the mornings, and the pain in his neck was completely gone.

He kept his eyes closed, yawned softly and turned over onto his side. A bounce, he was definitely not in his block and this was definitely not the lower levels. He could tell by the smell if everything else hadn’t already tipped him off. It was fresh and clean, a faint musk to the air and he felt his body stretch as he pulled more and more out of sleep.

His body relaxed and he felt his awareness begin to fade again just as a blaring _beep beep beep_ sounded through his ears.

He sat up and gasped, even after spending some time knowing he wasn’t in his block, he was still a little shocked to find himself in a nice cozy bed, bigger than any he had laid eyes on before. The room was dark but a dull light illuminated everything vaguely. He could hear the late night sounds of the city coming in from the window across from the bed and the memories from the previous day began flooding into his memory.

He had an Alpha. Finally. 

He looked over to see Victor reaching up and slamming his hand down on his alarm clock before sitting up lazily and yawning.

Even in the dull light, it was easy to see the well-toned muscles that made up Victor’s body and Yuuri felt a shiver travel up his spine. Victor grumbled for a moment and then pushed himself off of the bed, heading toward the bathroom where the dull light that illuminated the dark room, cut off as he shut the door behind him.

Yuuri froze. Was he supposed to be on the bed? He and Victor must have fallen asleep last night when the Alpha had been discussing some ground rules. He wasn’t sure the Alpha would want him in his bed. Victor had told him that he hadn’t planned on taking him as a lover. But he had also said that he wasn’t going to be cruel, he wanted Yuuri to be happy with him.

Yuuri looked at the floor and thought he should jump down, just in case as the door from the bathroom opened and the room was flooded in light.

Victor yawned again and padded over to the bed, flipping the light on and causing Yuuri to retract at the sudden painful shock.

“Oh, sorry Yuuri.” Victor said with a hint of amusement.

Yuuri blinked a few times and then smiled softly. Victor grabbed his phone and turned it on as he walked out of the bedroom and disappeared into the kitchen. Yuuri hesitated for only a moment before deciding to go with his gut. He had done that yesterday—had a gut feeling that his master would like to show off his new pet to the angry yelling old man. He hadn’t thought about crawling into the Alpha’s lap, he’d just done it. And Victor had liked it. His gut seemed to point him on the right path.

So he crawled out of the comfy bed and followed his master. He found the silver haired man standing in front of his coffee maker, still looking down at his phone. Yuuri slipped onto one of the bar stools and rested his elbows on the bar, watching as Victor now moved to the fridge, pulling out half & half and an egg.

When Victor turned around and looked up from his phone his eyes went a little wide and he looked down at the single egg he had in his hand. “Oh, do you like eggs?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Never had one before.”

Victor tilted his head, his hair falling messily into his face. “You’ve never had an egg?” He asked a little disbelieving.

Yuuri shrugged again. “Fruit and water.” He said softly. “To keep our figures.” He explained, motioning down at his petite frame.

Victor nodded slowly and then glanced around the kitchen. “I don’t think there’s a single fruit in this whole apartment.”

Yuuri smiled and shook his head. “There’s no need to fuss over me. I can have whatever you’d like me to have.”

Victor gave him an odd look and opened his mouth before closing it. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead he turned around and got another egg from the fridge. “Well, let’s try an egg this morning and if you don’t like it, we can get some fruit.”

The egg was—interesting. Yuuri didn’t dislike it, exactly and it definitely hit the spot, but he couldn’t quite figure if he liked it. Victor had added mushrooms and cheese to his own, and Yuuri had his plain. He wondered if the mushroom and cheese would make it better, but then again—he’d never had either of those either.

After breakfast Yuuri followed Victor back into the bedroom where the Alpha began pulling out the clothes he wanted to wear for the day. Yuuri sat on the edge of the bed, watching with curiosity as the Alpha chose, decided against and finally compiled the outfit in full. Yuuri thought that Victor would look pretty much the same in anything he wore, but the Alpha was meticulous and picky; carefully choosing a shirt to match his tie and making sure his slacks were just the right shade of blue to offset the whole thing.

He wondered if the Alpha would be just as picky about his own clothing. He hadn’t seen any sort of pet clothing anywhere, and just as he had the thought, Victor turned around and sighed.

“I guess we’ll have to go shopping for you today.” He said with a vague smile. “I only have the clothes that my father’s last pet wore, and I don’t know if they’ll fit you.”

Yuuri nodded and smiled. “I don’t think it matters what I wear, Alpha. Anything will do.”

Victor shook his head in disagreement. “No, I need you to look impressive. You represent my family when you’re out in public and since you’ll be in public with me until my business associates accept that I actually have a pet, we’ll need to get you some things.”

Yuuri didn’t say anything. He had learned that having an opinion could be endearing in certain situations, but he just didn’t know Victor well enough to be able to read him yet. Victor nodded to himself and laid his slacks on the bed neatly alongside the tie and shirt.

“For now, you care wear the suit in the front closet. It’s dark blue—the only pet outfit you’ll find.”

Yuuri nodded and stood up, heading to the front closet to grab his new clothes. The material was light and breathable, something similar to workout material. It had a sparkling sequence pattern along the shoulders and down the sides of the pants that added a hint of flair to the entire ensemble. It was just a simple shirt and pair of pants with matching silk gloves, but Yuuri marveled at it. He’d never seen a pet wearing something so magnificent.

When he made his way back into the bedroom, Victor had gone into the bathroom again and was taking a shower. Yuuri slipped on his clothes and looked in the full length mirror that hung on the inside of Victor’s closet.

The outfit suited him. It was maybe a bit small for him, but the stretchy material smoothed over his figure, showing off the curve of his hips and the slight muscles in his upper body. The sequence over the shoulders gave him the look of bulk that wasn’t really there and when he slipped the silky gloves over his hands they appeared long and elegant.

He twisted and turned, trying to see himself from every angle and when he finally nodded to himself in approval he found himself hoping Victor liked it as well. The Alpha may have had no interest in bedding him, but that didn’t mean Yuuri couldn’t show him what he was missing.

With a private smile, Yuuri walked over to the bed and made it up the way it had been when Victor had showed him around last night. He fluffed the pillows, tucked the comforter over under and then laid the warm blanket that had fallen to the floor, neatly over the edge.

He removed the empty coffee mugs from Victor’s side table and rinsed them out in the sink before setting them upside down to dry. He then grabbed the plates and forks they had used this morning and did the same before filling Victor’s current mug of coffee and adding two table spoons of half & half and a packet of the sweetener Victor had used.

When Yuuri came back into the bedroom and set the coffee down on the side table, Victor had just come out of the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist and another in his hand petting down his hair.

The Alpha stopped and looked around surprised.

“Did—is Sophia here?” He asked, looking around the straightened room.

“No, I just picked up a little.” Yuuri said, casually.

Victor seemed impressed, but the look disappeared and he looked sternly at Yuuri. “It’s not your job to clean, Yuuri. I have a maid.”

Yuuri struggled between the desire to be obedient and the desire to follow his training. He had always been trained to do these things, it was less work and more habit at this point. He took a breath and decided to be bold again.

“She must not be a very good maid. There were four empty coffee mugs on your side table.”

Victor looked over to the table and then back to Yuuri, grinning softly as he rolled his eyes. “I suppose you took care of the dishes too, then?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Maybe if this maid doesn’t have to worry about dishes and making the bed, she can focus on actually dusting.”

Victor grinned broadly and shook his head. “She is kind of bad at that isn’t she?”

Yuuri smiled and nodded his head gently.

Victor shook his head again and began dressing. Yuuri thought it was a bit open of the Alpha to dress in front of him, given his resolve to keep their relationship strictly professional, but he wasn’t complaining either. He watched as the well-built Alpha pulled on his clothes, straightening and maneuvering until they were settled perfectly.

He then watched carefully as the Alpha returned to the bathroom and styled his hair, blow drying the last bits of dampness out while a bristle brush ran through the locks, causing a wonderfully fluffy maim to appear before he sleeked it down with a bit of gel. Yuuri was fascinated by Victor’s morning routine. He had never seen anyone spend so much time on their appearance and still manage to emerge looking like they’d just rolled out of bed that way.

After rubbing some lotion on his hands and neck, Victor reached down and took a sip from the coffee Yuuri had refreshed for him. He looked down at the brew and then looked at Yuuri.

“Did you make this?” He asked, taking another sip.

Yuuri nodded and smiled. “I added another spoon full of the half & half. I saw you do it once yesterday.”

“It’s really good.” Victor said impressed.

They piddled around the apartment for a few minutes, Victor looking for a spare jacket for Yuuri to wear before having to give up and promising to buy him one later that day, and they left the apartment, heading down to Victor’s car to head back to the Agency.

The entrance to the office levels of the Agency were through the parking structure, and Yuuri had only used the entrance once, the night before when leaving. He felt odd coming through the doors, like he didn’t belong, like he should probably use another door and leave this one for his Alpha and his co-workers. But Victor had been very clear that Yuuri went where he went.

The ground rules they had gone over the previous night had been simple. A few of them had been obvious and others were a little strange to Yuuri.

“You stay by my side.” Victor said sternly. “There are buildings and business that don’t allow pets, but if I go in, you go in. Stay close to me and don’t look anyone in the eye in those situations.” Yuuri had nodded his understanding as Victor went on.

“If someone gives you an order, you ignore it. You are not the company pet or a working pet, you’re _my_ pet. And if I don’t tell you to do it directly, then don’t do it.”

Yuuri nodded again and then chewed his lip before asking, “What if you’re not around?”

Victor had tilted his head slightly and then kindly responded, “If you follow the first rule, then that won’t be a problem.” Yuuri nodded, then Victor went on, “but if you do find yourself in a situation where I’m not there use your best judgement.”

“Do not speak to other pets unless I say it’s okay. There are a few that I don’t want you mingling with. If another Alpha touches you, winks at you, makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, you tell me as soon as we’re alone. I don’t want you to eat anything offered to you by anyone but myself. . .”

There had been many rules and Yuuri had memorized them all, paying close attention to Victor’s wording and trying to understand the meaning of each one. He had no reason to think that the pet of an elite Alpha would be any different than an average Alpha, but he supposed he’d been wrong.

They entered Victor’s office and Yuuri made his way over to his pet cushion, fluffing it comfortably before sitting down. The cushion was much softer and firmer than the one that had been in his block. He liked the polka dot design and the feel of the soft fur.

Victor poured himself another cup of coffee, his third that morning, and then sat down in his chair beside Yuuri. He sipped his coffee silently for a moment and then looked down at the young pet.

“Will you be alright just sitting there?” He asked a little curiously.

Yuuri grinned, “It’s the same as sitting in my block. Only you have these nice big windows that have a better view.”

Victor chuckled softly. “Alright well, let me know if you get bored.” Yuuri nodded, but had no intention of doing any such thing. He would be perfectly happy looking down at the tiny cars rushing by, and if he did get bored, he could always take a nap. There had been no rule against a nap.

Victor’s work kept him busy for most of the morning. Yuuri watched as he checked emails, read papers, made notes and phone calls. He was level headed and calmly assertive and Yuuri had the idea that Victor was one Alpha who actually could do without a pet calming his rages. He had only known him for a day, but Yuuri thought it’d be very strange to see the Alpha emotional.

By the time Victor had finished off another two cups of coffee, Yuuri had just woken from a nap. He had curled up on his cushion and found the sounds of Victor’s typing very soothing. He’d not slept very deeply but he’d appreciated the rest just the same. It had been a long time since he’d gotten a good night sleep, and even though last night had been fantastic, he was still pretty exhausted.

When he had first arrived at the Agency, he had been 20 years old. The previous Agency he had been trained at, had traded him for another pet due to Yuuri’s odd mannerisms and reluctance to behave. He wasn’t a bad pet exactly, he just had problems not speaking out of turn and doing things differently than he’d been told. The Agency that traded him had bought him as a pup and when 20 years of training and teaching didn’t crush the spirit out of him, they’d given up.

The Nikiforov Agency meant nothing to Yuuri. All he knew was that he was lucky not to have been given to a facility. The Nikiforov Agency had seen him as much too attractive and well-bred to pass on and after 3 years in the Nikiforov training program they had deemed him ready to be sold.

He was never sure why he had such a hard time being sold. There had been many times he thought he’d been picked, only to find that the family or Alpha had gone with another pet. So many times he asked what he was doing wrong, only to be told to keep his mouth shut and maybe wiggle his ass a little more.

His year in the blocks had quieted his spirit a bit, he used to play, loved walking outside with the workers and other pets, loved romping around and laughing. But a year in the blocks had changed him. He’d grown weary and nervous, trying his best to be desirable, and still failing.

His last week at the Agency began with a rundown from the Pet Experts, telling him how his transfer to the facility would take place. He had been told to keep his manners but be flexible, as the facility would retrain a few things. He was told how to keep himself safe, the facility didn’t screen their clients as Agencies did, and he was told to keep himself looking nice as best he could.

He’d fallen so low that by the time Victor had come to get him, he’d actually thought he was being sent to the facility early. He had no idea who Victor was, and didn’t really question why he was being taken upstairs, he’d only thought that this was it.

Now that his future had finally been settled, Yuuri noticed how tired he’d been. The few days alone had been exhausting for him, and the past year had not been much better. But now—now he stretched and yawned, rolling over onto his back with a sigh.

Victor looked down at him and smiled. “Good morning, lazing beauty.” The Alpha said teasingly. Yuuri smiled back and yawned again.

“Why don’t you get up and I’ll take you for a tour of the office?” Victor asked, standing up and stretching himself. “I could use a break.”

Yuuri stood and brushed off his clothes, looking around to check that there was nothing on his backside and then smoothing his hair down a bit. Victor had been clear that he needed to look nice, and he meant to do everything in his power to make Victor happy.

They left the office, Yuuri walking beside Victor though slightly behind. Victor showed him the entirety of the top floor and Yuuri suddenly began to understand just how much his life had changed.

The top level of the building was completely for Victor’s use. Just outside his office door was a desk where his personal secretary worked. There was a copy room complete with state of the art machines, a small break room where a fully stocked fridge (no fruit still), a coffee pot, microwave and small stove were available. There were two giant conference rooms both used for meetings with the bigwigs of the company, and only able to be used if Victor called the meetings.

There was a large room that was filled with cubicles and computers that Victor explained used to be used by the accounting division before they moved to level 3.

“Now it’s used for new employees training and for employees whose computers aren’t working for some reason.”

There was a small gym, a large luxurious unisex bathroom and a small balcony that overlooked the client parking lot.

“Why do you need all of this space to yourself if you spend all of your time in your office?” Yuuri asked before thinking. His eyes went wide and he dropped his head immediately. “I’m so sorry, Alpha.” He said quickly.

Victor grinned and lifted the pet’s head, looking into his eyes. “You are allowed to speak to me freely. Remember?”

Yuuri did remember, but that had been one of those rules that didn’t make sense to him, and he knew it’d take him a while to get used to that one. He nodded slowly and Victor removed his finger from under his chin.

“Honestly, I don’t need it. It made sense when accounting was here, but since we moved them down, it’s just stayed like this. Sometimes I think about what I could do with this space that would be productive, but I really don’t have a lot of free time to think about it.”

Yuuri had always thought that there needed to be a team at every Agency that was dedicated to the protection of their pets. A team that would check up on the pets sold, check that the lower level pets were being treated properly and even dealing with the cases of harder to sell pets. It was a gap in the system that he, as a pet, could see plainly, but something like that would suggest that pets were more important than simple tools to be used by Alphas. He tucked the thought away into his mind, however and smiled at Victor.

Victor took him down to the next floor and showed him around the management offices. This floor was laid out the same as the top, only instead of two conference rooms, there was only one, and the other had been made into another set of cubicles used for the secretaries of all of the managers.

By the time they finished the tour of that floor, Victor had said it was enough for today and brought Yuuri back upstairs for some lunch. Yuuri had his first sandwich and he immediately decided that this was something he liked, ham with cheddar and lots of vegetables with mayo on pumpernickel bread.

Victor chuckled as the pet scarfed his food, “There’s plenty more, Yuuri, slow down before you make yourself sick.”

Yuuri looked up at him, mouth full to bursting and tried to slow down, chewing the food and swallowing it happily.

“I didn’t know meat was so good!” he said happily.

Victor grinned and nodded, “I’ve always liked it. But I don’t want you to get sick from a sudden change in diet, so I really am going to get some fruit for you and we can ease you into the meat and eggs.”

Victor had told Yuuri that they were going to leave the office around 4 so that they could get to the market before it closed. Fruit, clothes and a new collar were all on the list and Yuuri was actually looking forward to seeing the market in person.

A loud knock came at the door and Yuuri jumped slightly before hearing his Alpha say “Come in” calmly.

The door opened and the same man from yesterday walked in.

“Victor, we need to go to an Auction soon. Pet sales have been going up steadily and we’re almost at half capacity.”

“Again?” Victor questioned, taking the paper Yakov handed him and reading it quickly. “Wow, I suppose it’s a good problem to have. I’ll take Georgi and Mila to the next one. When is it?”

Yakov looked at the paper, “Saturday after next. I’d say you’ll want about 50.”

Victor nodded and sat back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at the paper. “Which Auction House is holding the Auction?”

Yakov pointed to the paper but responded aloud, “St. Petersburg National.”

Victor sighed and considered for a moment. He hated doing business with St. Petersburg National Auctioneers. It was owned by the same company that owned the facility they did business with, and the Auction House trade was a much uglier affair than pet sales. 

Yuuri could see Victor’s shoulders tense, his breathing coming a little harder—the changes were subtle, anyone else would think he was fine, but Yuuri could instantly tell the difference and he couldn’t have that.

He leaned over, rubbing his cheek along Victor’s leg. The Alpha reached a hand down and ran his fingers through the soft hair, playing idly while still considering his options.

“Are you sure we couldn’t hold out for the next one? The last time we bought from St. Petersburg National, the pets were sick.”

“If we wait until the next one, we may have to close sales for a few weeks. We’ll run out of pets to buy.” Yakov said shrugging his shoulders. 

Yuuri wrapped and arm around Victor’s leg and pulled himself up from the ground. Yakov stammered for a moment as he watched the pet crawl into Victor’s lap and make himself comfortable.

Yuuri could feel Victor’s breathing ease the moment he rested his ear to his chest and he nodded approvingly at the change. His Alpha needed to stay destressed and calm to make a big decision like this.

“O-of course it’s up to you, Victor.” Yakov said, staring confused at the nuzzling pet.

Victor continued running his fingers through Yuuri’s hair and staring at the paper. He was silent for a long time before finally sighing and shaking his head.

“No, you’re right. We’ll go, but I want detailed records of the condition the pets are in upon arrival and I want the Experts here to receive the shipment in case any need medical attention.”

Yakov nodded slowly and Victor cocked his head at him. “Problem?”

“It just seems you’ve gotten close to your new pet…”he said suspiciously, “in an awfully short amount of time…”

Victor stared him down, his hands moving gently over Yuuri’s scalp. “What are you implying, Yakov?”

The old man eyed him back for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. “Nothing, nothing. You do what you want, Victor.” He said turning away.

“I always do.” Victor sing songed, leaning forward and looking down at the paper again.

Yakov shut the door behind him and Yuuri raised his hand slowly and began smoothing a finger down Victor’s silky tie. He was comfortable, and as long as Victor was still thinking about the Auction, he felt he was right in staying put. It was obviously a source of anxiety for the Alpha.  

Victor leaned forward, causing Yuuri to adjust his position a bit, and pulled up his computer, quickly typing several things before leaning back again and sighing in frustration. Yuuri nuzzled his neck gently and the Alpha stroked his hair a few times before nudging the pet gently, signaling him to get down.

Yuuri obeyed without question and made himself comfortable on his cushion again as Victor began pacing back and forth. He wasn’t sure why Victor was so against this particular Auction House. Sure there were others that may treat pets a little better, but in the end they were all the same. Of course Yuuri couldn’t say something like that out loud.

He stood up and walked over to Victor’s coffee station. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” He asked as he watched the Alpha pace back and forth. Victor shook his head.

“No, I’d like to not have to deal with St. Petersburg National.” He said a bit offhandedly. Yuuri watched him for a moment and then decided to make the coffee anyway.

It wasn’t long before the bitter aromatic steam began filling the office and Victor stopped his pacing and looked over.

“Oh coffee! Perfect.” He said, walking over. Yuuri made the cup the way Victor liked and the Alpha sipped happily, letting his hand come up to pet the silky black locks again.

Yuuri beamed. He may not have been able to help Victor in the most basic way Alphas used their pets, but he could keep him calm and happy, and that was something.

Victor finished his cup and then announced that it was time to go. They had a lot of things to pick up after all and Victor was eager to get his mind off of his moral conundrum. They left the building, hopped in Victor’s car and headed for the market

The Market was really just a shopping center in the middle of town, but Yuuri had never seen anything so amazing. There were clothing shops, restaurants, Knick knack stores, perfume stores, music stores, furniture stores and even a few specialty pet stores. That’s where they were heading first and Yuuri gasped as they entered.

The specialty pet story seemed like it could easily just be a regular store. There were food isles, clothing isles and isles with random assortments of things. Any of these things could be purchased at a regular store, but he kept his mouth shut about this as well. He was happy to have been chosen as Victor’s pet, lucky even. His life could have been a lot worse and this was the best he was ever going to get. No need to voice his bitter thoughts.

Victor picked him out a special design of pet suit, limited edition. It was a spiraling sparkle design that went down one arm of the long sleeved shirt and repeated again down the opposite pant leg. It was dark blue at the collar of the shirt and slowly faded into a light blue grey at the bottom of his pants.

Victor had him try it on, and Yuuri noted that the Alpha chose the same size—slightly too small—as he was already wearing. He grinned at the thought, thinking that Victor must have appreciated the way the smaller size showed off his body.

Victor bought out the design, saying that it wouldn’t do to have Yuuri wearing a design that just anyone could wear. They headed over to the isles with random pet necessities and Victor bought him a new dark leather collar, some bathing soaps and hair products, along with several new pairs of shoes and a new cushion for home. Yuuri picked out the same design cushion as the one in the office, smiling even as Victor made a face of annoyance.

He enjoyed the shopping trip immensely and after they stopped at the market to buy some fruit, they were on their way home.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you hate slow burns as much as I do!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Auction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time with this chapter. It was a little...personal there. Trigger warnings for slavery and slave auctions.

Chapter 3

 

Monday morning came faster than Victor had expected. Yuuri seemed to blend seamlessly into his life in a way that he hadn’t thought possible. Little things his pet did were quickly becoming routine and it was interesting to imagine his life without him even after such minimal time together.

Every morning Victor woke up to the smell of fresh coffee filling the apartment. Yuuri had insisted on picking up a French press and the coffee that it created was euphoric. Victor wasn’t sure if it was the French press or the way Yuuri used it, but the coffee was unbeatable.

Yuuri also insisted on making the bed every morning. His complaints about Sophia had reached comical levels and anything that directly affected Victor, he insisted on tending to himself. He made the bed, cleaned the bedroom and bathroom, he threw out her prepared meals and made the food himself and had already made hints about wanting to do the laundry. Victor had thought that it was beneath his pet to do ridiculous chores, but Yuuri seemed to genuinely enjoy it.

Victor was working on his second cup of coffee that morning, going over his agenda and inwardly groaning at the idea of his business associates judging his work based on his acquiring a pet made him want to throw things. It made him even more on edge to know that despite his original thoughts, having Yuuri around really did seem to relieve him.

“Is it no good?”

Victor blinked. It took him a moment to realize that Yuuri was asking about the breakfast and he shook his head with a grin.

“It’s wonderful.” He said sipping his coffee.

Yuuri gave an audible sigh and nodded in triumph. “I was a little worried. I’m not sure how French toast is supposed to look or smell, and that woman’s recipes aren’t always reliable.”

Victor hid another grin in his coffee cup as he took another sip. Yuuri had begun referring to Sophia as _that woman_ the day he came home to find that she had sprayed all of his stuff with a terrible smelling air freshener. Victor had explained that she probably hadn’t actually sprayed his stuff with it, and instead just sprayed the room and as a result his clothes smelled of the spray—but Yuuri didn’t care.

Yuuri had come with Victor to the office for the remainder of their first week together. He had his own routine there as well, and the top level employees had all expressed positive attitudes toward him. Even Yakov had appreciated the new coffee—Yuuri brought another French press for the break room—and had every floor replace their pots with French presses. Yuuri had taken it as a high compliment.

Victor really did hate that he had noticed a change in his work. His productivity hadn’t raised a lot, but his problem solving and creativity definitely had gone up. He was finding stressful projects were suddenly a lot easier to deal with, even with the pet sleeping on his cushion there was just something in the presence that helped him.

Admitting that he should have gotten a pet years ago was absolutely out of the question, but he would admit that he should have found Yuuri years ago. His only explanation for his work increase was that Yuuri was made for him somehow. They clicked so well; Yuuri seemed to feed off Victor’s energy—it was almost like he could read Victor’s mind sometimes, and Victor had to admit that it was nice.

“She cleaned my favorite suit.” Yuuri said grumpily as he slipped into the stool next to Victor. “She knew I wanted to wear it today and she cleaned it on purpose.”

Victor cocked his head in curiosity and Yuuri continued. “She uses that cheap soap that makes me itch and I asked her to leave my stuff so that I could clean it.”

“Well maybe she’s worried you’re putting her out of a job.” Victor suggested.

Yuuri sighed. “No, she just wants me to make a bad impression on your friends.”

“They’re not my friends.” Victor said, for maybe the 20th time. He knew Yuuri didn’t care who they were. All the pet cared about was not making Victor look bad in front of people who mattered.

“So she cleaned my clothes in itchy soap and now you’ll look like a fool and sell me to some hobo on the street.”

Victor grinned again. Yuuri—was dramatic. It was actually one of the things Victor found that he enjoyed. When he had insisted that there was no need to make the bed in the mornings, Yuuri had launched into a lecture about the importance of a well presented bed for sleep habits. When that hadn’t worked, the pet had sighed and made a big deal about how obsolete he was going to be if he lost his skills.

It was something that often got Yuuri his own way, and Victor had always found himself agreeing that Yuuri’s way was better after a day or two which then led to the ‘if you’d just agree with me to begin with, we’d avoid these awkward moments’ conversations.

“Well, all of your suits are the same, and they’re all brand new.” Victor said, immediately regretting it. Yuuri’s eyes turned cold, his lips drew into a thin line and his chest puffed out.

“So having a favorite is a crime now?”

Victor shook his head, opening his mouth to explain that he’d meant no harm, but he was cut off.

“I guess my opinion doesn’t really count when it comes to my clothing. I suppose that woman can just go around doing whatever she wants without even a hint of discipline for mistakes, but I have a favorite suit and it’s insanity.” His voice was calm, measured and poisonous.

Victor sighed. “No, I’m sorry pet. Look why don’t we take the suit to the cleaners and pick it up an hour before my associates get here?”

Yuuri glared for a moment before seeming to accept the apology and shrugging his shoulders. “I already re-washed it. I checked it yesterday because I knew she was going to try something.” He stood up from his stool and removed the plate that was now empty in front of Victor.

“I do think I’ll start doing the laundry though. Can’t trust her with something this important, then we can’t trust her with anything.”

Victor laughed silently into his almost empty coffee cup again, shaking his head.

The morning seemed to fly by to Victor. Before he knew it, he had signed off on three projects, fired Fred and gone down to the lower levels to check that things still looked good. It wasn’t likely that his associates would want to tour the lower levels, but he wanted to cover all of his bases.

Yuuri had been asleep when he’d gone down and when he returned to his office, accompanied by one of his early associates, he’d found the pet pouring a fresh cup of coffee for him.

“So this is the famous pet?” Chris said, looking Yuuri up and down with a nod.

Victor chuckled and accepted the coffee. “This is him.” He agreed.

Chris may have been an associate, but they had grown up together. They had been together since Jr. High and even after leaving college they had managed to end up working close together. Chris worked in St. Petersburg at his own Agency, but the smaller business had been bought by the Nikiforof Agency not long after they had both started working.

“I can’t believe you finally got one.” Chris said, accepting the cup of coffee that Yuuri was now offering him.

Victor nodded, “It’s all a show for you and these other starches.”

“Oh admit it, it’s kind of nice.” Chris said sipping the coffee and taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk. “Damn, that’s good.”

Yuuri took a seat on his cushion, sitting straight and quietly in a way that Victor knew was an effort to seem impressive.

“He takes pretty good care of me.” Victor took a seat in his chair and sighed, leaning back and grinning at his old friend.

“How did he manage to convince you to let him do that?”

Victor shrugged. “Doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“This from the man who refused a beautiful pet from his father for his graduation?” Chris teased.

“Yeah, I don’t know.” Victor said, glancing down at his pet, “we just clicked.”

Chris nodded in understanding. He had grown up in the same world as Victor; wealthy family, Alpha, more intelligent than he let on, and he’d gotten his first pet when he’d turned 16. Up to that point, they had both disliked the pet system, but once he’d gotten his own, Chris had switched sides. He still didn’t like the trade as a whole, but he’d been convinced that it wasn’t all bad.

“How long did it take you to get used to him?” Chris asked with a smile. “It took me weeks.”

Victor shrugged, not being embarrassed exactly at his immediate attachment to his pet, but he was aware at how strange it was. Chris didn’t push on the question and they were soon discussing business and making light hearted fun of the other associates, all 10 years their senior or more.

They talked all the way through to the arrival of the other associates and Victor had to remind himself that he was not in college anymore and to put his business face on.

The meeting went well, standard business discussion. They talked about the budget and about the changes planned for the New Year, Victor had shown them charts and booklets describing the plans for each minor business that the Nikiforof Agency owned. He confessed his continued upset over the state of pet auctions and was immediately put down by the fact that their business would crumble were it not for the auctions.

They had lunch, discussed personal business for each small Agency, discussed plans for expanding and then wrapped up around 5 in the afternoon.

As the door closed behind the last associate, Victor turned and gave his pet a smile. Yuuri was there next to him immediately, his arm wrapping around Victor’s waist and holding him tightly. It had gone well. Perfect in fact. Everyone had noticed Yuuri, though no one said anything—polite society rules. They did their work and Yuuri had even received a few nods of approval when he’d presented Victor with a fresh cup of coffee the moment he finished with his old one.

He knew it had gone well. Yakov would be so pleased to receive whatever spy reports he could manage telling him how Victor was now playing by the rules. But even so…Victor felt odd.

“Did something go wrong?” Yuuri asked, wiggling himself under Victor’s arm and cuddling close.

Victor shook his head and forced a smile. “No. Everything went perfectly. Completely according to plan.”

“So…why the anxiety?”

This was one of those strange things Yuuri often said that threw him off a bit. Pets were trained to read body language and facial queues; it was completely normal for a pet to recognize when they were needed, but Yuuri often spoke aloud the exact emotion Victor was feeling.

Of course it wouldn’t be too hard to guess what emotion he was feeling, but then again after a flawless meeting with constant approval and clear positivity, it was a little weird that Yuuri could tell he was anxious.

He gave his pet an odd look and then found himself shaking his head. “I don’t know. I suppose I’m just anxious to see what everyone thinks of me having you.”

Yuuri nodded his head thoughtfully. “Won’t they be happy? Yakov said they were concerned from your lack of a pet. Now you have one.”

Victor sighed and shook his head again, trying to get the anxiety to go away. Yuuri was right. They wanted him to have a pet to seem a bit less eccentric and he’d done so. Yuuri had risen to the occasion flawlessly and even Victor could admit that he was happier.

“They didn’t listen to you.” Yuuri said bluntly, though his voice was calm and soothing. “You told them about pet auctions and they threw the thought aside.”

A bubble of anger grew in his stomach and Victor knew Yuuri had hit the nail on the head.

Victor was still considered his father’s son at the company. Sure he had brought in business that his father had never been able to. His profits had been steadily going up since he’d taken over and business was doing well—but his silly little ideas were still just that.

He hadn’t even been able to get his full thought out before one of the men had spoken up and changed the subject rapidly. Changing the way they did business would mean figuring out a whole new way to run their business. Without auctions, they’d have to figure out another way to procure pets. And since the cheapest and fastest way to get pets in bulk was at an auction, this meant serious reorganizing that the company just wasn’t equipped for.

He wrapped his arm tighter around Yuuri’s shoulder and sighed. “To them, I’m still just a kid.” He smiled at Yuuri and then sighed, letting his go as he turned back around.

Yuuri didn’t pursue the issue further and Victor was glad of that. He may feel closer to Yuuri every passing day, but there were some things he just didn’t want to discuss in depth.

 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe we have to go to this thing.” Victor huffed, straightening his tie. Or at least he must have thought he was straightening it, because from where Yuuri stood, he was just messing it up more.

The pet stood and removed Victor’s hands, fixing the tie with ease. Victor had been a complete wreck since his meeting with his partners—well they weren’t partners. Yuuri knew that, but he was still a little confused about what to call them.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Yuuri said reassuringly. “You’ve been to Auctions before.”

Victor nodded and sighed. “Yes, but…I don’t know.” He huffed and walked out of the room, heading for more coffee if Yuuri knew anything.

He couldn’t be 100% sure, but Yuuri thought that all things dealing with pets had started to become more difficult for the Alpha ever since he’d come to own his own. He seemed embarrassed and nervous whenever they spoke about the Auction and even going down to visit the lower levels seemed like a daunting task now.

Yuuri followed Victor into the kitchen and slipped onto his stool, watching the Alpha with a small grin. “It won’t be so bad. You’ll go, you’ll buy and you’ll leave.” He shrugged.

Victor looked at him with a pained expression. Several times over the past few days, Victor had told Yuuri that it wasn’t as simple as that. He told him that it may be difficult to attend as a pet, but Yuuri had reminded him that he was to go nowhere without his Alpha. Those were the rules. Victor had grudgingly agreed, but he’d become even more nervous.

There was a knock at the door and Yuuri gave Victor a soft smile as he went to open it.

“You know, it’s been years since I’ve been to an Auction! I’m actually kind of excited.” Chris walked in, followed by his own pet, Phichit. Over the past week, Chris had stayed, stating that he could stand to use a refresher course in how to run things from Victor. To Yuuri it was clear that the two simply wanted to hang out and catch up a bit more. To say they were close—that would be an understatement.

For days the two were practically inseparable. Chris would come over early, they’d have breakfast, go to the office, spend the entire day working but mostly just hanging out, and then they’d get dinner and Chris would end up leaving the apartment very late to head back to his hotel.

Yuuri didn’t mind. In fact, he thought it was kind of nice to see Victor this way. Of course he’d only known Victor for a few weeks, but he had been very different with Chris around. The moment Chris was gone, however, his Alpha would slip into the wreck that he was now. The closer the Auction came, the worse he became and Yuuri was having a little trouble figuring out how to keep him calm.

Chris had sent for Phichit the day after the big meeting and luckily, the pet had been a world of knowledge for Yuuri. The day Yuuri had confided his worry in him, Phichit had immediately been able to offer some good advice.

“There are several ways to calm a nervous Alpha, but the best by far is…to allow him to get his frustrations out.”

Yuuri had grinned at this. Phichit had been trained in Switzerland, and from what Yuuri could tell, they did things very differently. Higher class pets seemed to be well educated, well-bred and spoke just like their masters would. Saying ‘sex’ was vulgar and distasteful, and even though Chris had a very different way of behaving, Phichit’s training hadn’t quite left him.

“I can’t do that. He won’t even hear of having a sexual relationship with me.”

Phichit blinked and shook his head, clearly confused. “What do you mean? What—what does he use you for?”

Yuuri shrugged. “Nothing. I keep him stocked in good coffee, and I keep the apartment livable because his maid was an absolute terror, but that’s about it.”

Phichit looked disbelieving. “He takes you to the office though? What do you do there?”

“I just sit there, take naps, follow him around and keep him stocked in coffee.” He looked off to the side, “Actually, I think maybe I should cut him down on caffeine now that I think about it.”

Phichit laughed through his nose and then shook his head. “So—he doesn’t do anything with you?”

Yuuri shook his head.

“Wow. Chris can hardly go 4 hours without sex.” Phichit nodded his head to the side slightly. “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. But I can’t imagine an Alpha who didn’t want a pet for….relief.”

Yuuri sighed. “I know. I always thought it would be part of the job, you know? Sometimes pets here are used as labor, but it’s always been obvious that some level of intimacy came with it. But Victor was very clear.”

“Maybe you should give it a try anyway?” Phichit suggested. “You said that sometimes just letting him hold you helps, but if that’s not working then maybe you could use your charm. Maybe get him to forget his rule.”

Yuuri hadn’t thought that would go over so well, but after another two days of his Alpha having stress levels so high that he could practically smell them, he thought he’d give it a try.

Chris had left late and Yuuri thought it’d be the perfect time to try and get a little cozier with Victor. He had showered using Victor’s favorite smelling soap and had crawled into bed wearing only his underwear. This wasn’t too different from normal, but he was determined to at least get something to happen.

Victor came in, undressed down to his own underwear and slipped into the bed. Yuuri immediately wrapped his arm around Victor’s middle and pulled himself close, snuggling into the Alpha’s neck. Victor sighed casually and held Yuuri close.

This was it! This was where he was going to make his move. He leaned up, pressing his lips to the curve of Victor’s neck and the Alpha hummed appreciatively. Yuuri continued his kisses, Victor’s hand ran lazily up and down Yuuri’s arm and the pet took it as encouragement.

Yuuri moved the kisses up to Victor’s jaw, moving along to his chin when Victor stretched his neck out to give him better access. He leaned up and pressed his lips so softly to Victor’s that he wasn’t even sure it would be considered a kiss.

Victor smiled, eyes heavy and happy looking. Yuuri kissed him again, just as softly, just as lightly. Victor’s arm tightened around him slightly and Yuuri breathed slowly as he lowered his lips to Victor’s once again. He needed to deepen the kiss, make it clear that this wasn’t just affection—that he wanted to move further.

Victor sat up quickly, shoving Yuuri to the ground with the force of it.

“I-I’m sorry, Yuuri.” Victor said, panting slightly. His eyes were wide now, body shaking slightly as he helped him up from the floor.

“It’s okay.” Yuuri said with a soft laugh. “No harm done.”

Victor shook his head. “No, I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have—“ He sighed and shook his head again. “Yuuri I told you I didn’t expect anything sexual from you.”

Yuuri nodded and then shrugged. “You just seem a little tense lately. I thought maybe I could help.” He tried using his most seductive voice and he batted his lashes slowly.

Victor smiled. “I appreciate that. But you are helping. I hate to admit how much, but you really are.”

And that had been that. Victor had helped get Yuuri back into bed and then turned over and fallen asleep. So now here they were. Days later, Victor still a nervous wreck and Yuuri unable to help him in the one way he was sure would do the trick.

“Auctions aren’t fun, Chris. They’re work. And they’re cruel.” Victor said, sipping his coffee as Yuuri closed the door behind Phichit.

“Oh not this again. Victor, they’re not cruel. There are rules and protocol in place to make sure it’s humane.”

Victor scoffed and downed the last of his coffee. “Look we’re going to be late if we stay here arguing. Are you ready?”

Chris looked over at Yuuri pleadingly and Yuuri grinned. “That blue thermos is full of coffee and I gave Phichit a bag of the beans I use, a French press and instructions on how to use it.”

“Bless you, Yuuri.” Chris said bowing to him happily and then grabbing the thermos.

Victor looked between them curiously. “You’re stealing my coffee?”

“Oh come now, Victor. You snagged this—“ he motioned to Yuuri seductively though teasingly, “beautiful creature who also happens to make the best coffee in the world. The least you could do is share the coffee…unless….”

Victor shoved him playfully and shook his head. “Okay, come on. We’re meeting Georgi and Mila at the Auction.”

 

The Auctions were held downtown down a side street that was used only for Auctions. It was very much like a market place; people gathered to sell their pet related goods, even a few personal pet sales would take place between citizens. But the main event took place on a large platform stage. Auction Houses would host—bringing their sellable pets and auctioning them off to the highest bidder. Usually Agencies would come together and bid and see what the competition was getting, but obviously private citizens could bid as well if they could keep up with the prices.

It was unseasonably cold today, Victor and Chris were wearing their long over coats, scarves and gloves and both had dressed their pets to match. The sky was grey and threatening snow and people were huddled together and bouncing up and down as they spoke.

It was packed. Yuuri had never seen so many people in all his life. He’d been able to bypass an Auction when he’d been sold to the Agency, and had actually been looking forward to seeing how this would be. Victor and Chris had seats right in the middle and Georgi and Mila were seated directly behind them.

As the Auction began, Yuuri sat up excitedly. The Auctioneer was a bruttish looking man, with a mustache and almost no hair on his head. He spoke clearly and loudly with a commanding voice.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Today’s auction is brought to you by the St. Petersburg National Auction House and will begin with Ex-Ads.”

Victor leaned back and whispered to Georgie and Mila, “Ex-Ads is the term they use for experienced adults. Basically a nice way of saying that these pets are older and previously owned.” He sighed softly and leaned back up. Yuuri reached over and squeezed his hand. He honestly had no idea why his Alpha was so bent out of shape about this. It wasn’t like he was a stranger to the pet trade.

The moment the pets walked onto the platform—Yuuri got it.

The pets were nearly completely naked, wearing thick chain collars around their necks and completely filthy. He stared up at these people and that’s all he could see—people. How could anyone treat people this way? His breath hitched and Victor squeezed his hand in return.

They stood up there, shivering from the cold and probably malnutrition and being sold off to Agencies like new cars—or old cars.

It was sickening. The experienced adults segued into experienced youths which moved into the inexperienced adults and then the inexperienced youths. Yuuri was absolutely horrified. Families were split up, children separated from their parents without even a private goodbye.

He watched as the pets—the people like him, were treated like prized horses and he could hardly keep himself from throwing up. But he couldn’t leave. He could feel Victor’s own anxiety and discomfort pouring off of him, and he couldn’t abandon him. And he didn’t exactly like the looks of the police officers who were standing scattered around the area. He had a feeling that if he were to get up, they’d have him tackled in minutes.

As the Auctioneer finished with the last of the inexperienced youths, Yuuri gave a sigh of relief. It was over—they could go and he’d never be foolish enough to come to one of these things again. He made to stand up, but Victor kept his hand tightly in his own.

“It’s not over yet, pet.” Victor whispered softly.

Yuuri’s horror doubled.

The group moving onto the platform were thinner than he’d even known possible. They were bruised and scared, their hair matted worse than any of the others and they were chained not just by their collars but also by ankle cuffs. All together and suffering so terribly.

Omegas.

It was common knowledge that the best pets were typically Omegas. They were the natural way to calm an Alpha and because of this, they were the best. But due to their rarity, they were sold at remarkable prices and usually kept as personal pets like Yuuri was.

But these—these Omegas looked like they’d been kept in a cave and starved. There were only 5 of them, but that number was remarkable in and of itself.

Before the Auctioneer began the bedding, one of the auction workers had run up on stage and whispered into his ear.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we’ve received our first bid and it’s for all of the Omegas you see here.” He gestured to the 5 and then looked out into the crowed.

Chris leaned over to Victor. “We’ve got to put in a bid. Another Agency having 5 Omegas?” He said desperately.

Victor shook his head. “No, I don’t like dealing with Omegas, too much maintenance. We’d have to go through too much to make sure they were treated well.”

Yuuri scoffed.

“Obviously, these haven’t been, but with our standards, we’d have to make sure they were able to be sold for top dollar and we usually sell to middle class.” Victor said to both of them.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Victor—this could be good business for us. We’ve been wanting to get into the upper class sales anyway. That could be our edge. Our upper-class pets are all Omegas.”

They went back and forth for a long time until finally Victor gave in.

“Fine!” He whispered harshly. “Just make a bid, but nothing more than we can make.”

Yuuri tried not to be disgusted by his Alpha—but he was seeing this right? He was seeing the state of these people, these Omegas, and his only concern was to make a profit? He leaned away from Victor slowly.

Chris was able to outbid the original bidder and was floating on air. Phichit seemed just as disturbed as Yuuri felt and as their masters went to set up delivery of their purchases they huddled together.

“That was awful.” Phichit said softly.

Yuuri nodded. “I don’t know what I was expecting—but it wasn’t that.”

“Did you see those poor Omegas?”

Yuuri looked at Phichit in a bit of surprise. Pets comprised mostly of Betas who had been born into the trade. Poor families would sell children into the trade to keep food on the table for their growing families, loners would find themselves captured and sold into the trade, but mostly it was the children that pets often bore who made up the vast majority.

Betas would often have Beta children, but it wasn’t unheard of for them to bear an Alpha if the biological parent was an Alpha. Pets often bore their master’s children and these children, being illegitimate, would either go right into the trade or, if the child were an Alpha, would end up being raised by distant relatives or sent to orphanages.

The social status of their world was complex but seemingly simple. No second gender was automatically better than another. Just because you were an Alpha did not mean you were destined for a life of privilege and wealth. There were many poor or struggling Alphas in the world. And just because you were born and Beta didn’t mean you spent your days bowing and scraping to Alphas. Things were much more muddled than that.

Alphas were treated better in the grand scheme of things. Being an Alpha automatically gave you a certain level of respect, but circumstances did matter. In the top social tier, the wealthy and fabulous families always preferred their Alpha children. These were the ones sent to top schools and universities, pruned from birth to be leaders. The wealthy Betas were groomed and educated to be spouses of Alphas.

The middle and lower classes were much the same. Alphas were treated better than their Beta counterparts, but mixing of the classes was rare. A lower class Alpha would not be considered better than an upper-class Beta, though if said Alpha were to strike it rich…

Usually pets of wealthy Alphas, like Phichit, had no sympathy for Omegas. Most people didn’t. For some reason, Omegas had been seen as inferior yet necessary for centuries. So Phichits concern struck Yuuri oddly.

“It was disgusting.” Yuuri agreed.

He and Phichit waited in silence after that. It didn’t feel right being there. Two pets of wealthy Alpha’s watching the less fortunate pets being sold off to Agencies who would sell them to God knew who, or to private citizens who would use them as labor or worse. It was odd to stand there, warm in their expensive clothes, dressed and done up like a peacock while their peers were sold to far worse.

It felt disloyal somehow.

Victor touched Yuuri’s arm and the pet looked up at him, eyes wide. Victor sighed and shook his head.

“I told you it wasn’t good.”

Chris and Phichit walked away, waving to them and Georgi and Mila followed. Yuuri gulped softly and then shook his head.

“It was worse than not good.” He said gently. “It was horrible.”

Victor looked sympathetic, but that was only making Yuuri feel worse. Victor was part of the problem. He’d thought Agencies were bad, but Auctions…and the only reason Auction Houses existed was because Agencies needed a place to buy in bulk.

“Why don’t we go home?” Victor suggested kindly.

Yuuri nodded, sniffling and wrapping his arms around himself. “Yeah.”

How could he go home; to their nice warm apartment filled with food and drinks? There was a soft warm bed waiting for him, a hot shower and dry clothes. How could he go home and enjoy such things when his peers were living like this?

Victor wrapped an arm around him and they headed off toward the car. Maybe a good night’s sleep would help. Then again—maybe he needed to be disturbed. Maybe he needed to be disgusted—to make others disgusted by this. He didn’t know what was best. All he knew was that he was never coming to an Auction again.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like chapter 4 is where the plot really begins. The stage is set, the character introduced and now the story begins!

**Author's Note:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed this first installment! 
> 
> I have no plan to angst this fic up, but it will be filled with drama on a more global level. Instead of petting fights and miscommunication keeping them apart, we'll be delving into territory dealing with oppression and bigotry. THERE WILL BE SMUT so be forewarned, and there may be triggers on the slave/bigotry/privilege scale. I will be sure to tag all as the chapters continue. For now, leave your thoughts and comments below!


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